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6 Takeaways from 43rd Ryder Cup

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The thrashing started Friday morning and didn't stop throughout all five sessions of the Ryder Cup, as the Americans took the trophy home with a record-breaking 19-9 win over the Europeans.

Captain Steve Stricker's outfit never looked in danger of losing during the entire event, erasing the disappointment of Paris in 2018 to serve notice that the Europeans no longer dominate the event.

Here are six takeaways from an incredible week at Whistling Straits.

United States talent reigns supreme

The Ryder Cup can often produce some shocking results, but the enormous talent gap between these teams removed any uncertainty very early about how this event would end. The Americans featured seven of the top-10 players in the world, with only Scottie Scheffler ranked outside the top 20 at No. 21. The Europeans sent just four top-20 players to Whistling Straits, with half the team sitting at No. 35 or worse.

For the first time ever, the Americans tied or won all five sessions, with Sunday singles emphatically punctuating the victory. Knowing they needed eight points from 12 matches to break the Ryder Cup record, Daniel Berger supplied the 19th point to make history.

American rookies on fire

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The six rookies on the American squad showed no sign of nerves, piling up a remarkable 12-2-2 record entering singles play. With a 3-2-1 finish on Sunday, the freshmen netted 15 victories in the event, the most ever.

It was Scheffler who took down the red-hot Jon Rahm in singles play, Collin Morikawa who secured the winning half-point to deliver the Cup, and Berger who locked up the record total. This level of American dominance could simply be a sign of things to come in the Ryder Cup.

Spaniards carry Europeans

The Europeans likely would have been better served by bringing 12 Spaniards to Whistling Straits. The duo of Rahm and Sergio Garcia finished team play with a perfect 3-0 record, with the former also adding a half-point alongside Tyrrell Hatton.

Though both fell in singles play on Sunday, the Spaniards were the only reason the final margin wasn't significantly worse. Spanish professionals Adrian Otaegui, Rafa Cabera Bello, Nacho Elvira, and Adri Arnaus have two years to get their games in order for Italy in 2023.

Ryder Cup Bryson can be fun!

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Bryson DeChambeau certainly wouldn't be in the running for the most liked player at a regular TOUR event, but the beefy 27-year-old was a fan favorite at the Ryder Cup. DeChambeau served as the ultimate hype man throughout the week, charging up the fans on a number of tee boxes before stepping up to mash a drive to the delight of the raucous crowd.

His two biggest highlights were an absurd 417-yard drive Friday en route to an eagle on the par-5 fifth and an absolute moon ball that found the green off the first tee on Sunday, also resulting in an eagle. DeChambeau finished the week 2-0-1 but his impact went far beyond his record. Whether he can build off the support he received from the fans this week will be interesting to watch going forward.

DJ flips the script

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Dustin Johnson's Ryder Cup record entering play left a lot to be desired considering how talented the 37-year-old is. Despite heading to Whistling Straits as the oldest player on the American team, Johnson went out for all four team matches, and the two-time major winner returned a perfect 4-0 mark.

He teamed flawlessly with Morikawa, helping to shepherd the rookie around for a brilliant start in his Ryder Cup debut. Johnson punctuated his week with a singles victory over Paul Casey to become just the fifth player in Ryder Cup history to go 5-0 at the event.

Changing of the guard for Europeans

Though the Americans sent the youngest team in Ryder Cup history, the 43rd playing of the event represented a changing of the guard for the European outfit. Garcia, Casey, Lee Westwood, and Ian Poulter are all over the age of 40, and the latter three combined for an 0-7 record in the team sessions.

Poulter and Westwood were able to win their singles matches, but it's clear this was likely the swan song for the pair and Casey. Though the overall result wasn't as they hoped, Garcia and Poulter were able to make history in the loss. The Spaniard became the winningest Ryder Cup player of all time thanks to his Saturday team win with Rahm, while Poulter's singles victory put him alongside Colin Montgomerie as the only players ever to win six such matches without a loss.

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